Nevada No Longer a Gamble for Marijuana Patients

It’s nice to know Nevada has taken an active step to promote a healthy tourist population. It just makes sense since you can’t experience Vegas to its fullest if you’re not on you’re A-game. So along with detox spas to cure a “swear-off-the-stuff” hangover, anyone with a valid medical cannabis card, from any state with a comprehensive medical marijuana program, can legally buy medical marijuana in Nevada. You’ll also need a driver’s license or other government issued ID.

What permits the Silver State (as well as a few other states in the U.S.) to offer compassionate cannabis to out-of-staters is a law that requires Nevada to recognize an out of state visitor’s medical marijuana card. The new law went into effect January 1 of this year. The net is, if you’re a card carrying medical marijuana patient, you’re good to go. This is really a breakthrough since travelling across state lines with meds can be uncertain and unnerving, to say the least.

“The open medical marijuana market, with full reciprocity to other states and countries, will likely help the public in Nevada to become more comfortable with fully legalized adult use,” commented Ben Sillitoe of Oasis Medical Cannabis. “It is on the ballot in November and I believe the voters will be in favor.”

But it’s not all warm-fuzzy compassion. There are some serious numbers at play. Consider Nevada currently has less than 9,500 registered medical marijuana patients. While it’s immediately surrounded by states with a combined total of over 1,000,000 registered patients—all within a 2 hour flight of Las Vegas.

“The list of registered patients in Nevada is growing monthly,” observed Chris DeGraff dispensary manager for Nevada Medical Marijuana, “however the new law that allows patients with a valid card from ANY state to use their MMJ card in Nevada, is a game changer. Looking at the annual average of 42 million visitors to Las Vegas, approximately 1.5 million will have valid medical marijuana cards they can use in state. The bottom line, Nevada’s cannabis sales are about to dramatically improve.”

Could this be baby steps, paving the way for legalization? We’ll find out this year, as Nevada goes to the polls to vote on full marijuana legalization this November.

So go visit the Silver State, get the appropriate meds and enjoy the many amazing places Nevada has to offer—the lights on the strip might look that much brighter. Just don’t forget your MMJ card, for now.